Robotics + Art

Ford Model T

Industrialization has technologically advanced society and in part made human lives easier. The mass production of cars by Ford made travel easier and more accessible to the middle class in the early 1900s with the Model T. Since the Industrial Revolution, society has demonstrated positive and negative reactions to mass production. Robots and robotic equipment are replacing humans in the workforce and lessening the number of positions available thus contributing to the percentage of unemployment and homelessness across America. On the other hand, the advancement of robotics is growing and can be used to enhance and prolong life on earth.

WALL-E showing emotion toward EVE

The 2008 Disney/Pixar movie WALL-E about the last of a clan of recycling robots on earth showed that robots could not only be put to good use, but can go where humans would not (Earth was engulfed in trash) and could develop personalities. The robot WALL-E conveys human emotions such as loneliness for being the only robot left on the planet but also compassion for another robot he stumbles upon called EVE, while the humans relaxed on a spaceship orbiting Earth.

Hiroshi's geminoid robot

In Japan, Hiroshi Ishiguro has developed an Actroid, a humanoid robot with lifelike appearance and visible behaviors such as facial expressions, in his lab at Osaka University. The technology in this robot allows it to mimic facial expressions, talk, and track eye movements so it appears to be looking at the same object that the person it is mimicking is looking at. The art in the design of the robot makes it appear eerily life-like down to smile and frown lines around the corners of its mouth.

In his paper “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Walter Benjamin states, “technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself” (Benjamin 1936). Since scientists have already figured out how to make robots appear friendly and humanlike while programming them to be able to empathize, we could use these as companions to children with severe illness that force them to be quarantined. Depression and loneliness are common in children that have suppressed immune systems or other diseases that prevent the possibility of visitors or receiving gifts from friends and family for fear that a small contamination could kill the patient. This emotional distress further hinders the body’s ability to fight infection and the will to live.  Artfully constructed robots have the potential to save human life while simultaneously making it more enjoyable. 

Children foster friendship with toys/robots

Citations

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." (1936).University of California Desma 9. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-3-agenda?module_item_id=6472143>.

Children with Robot Image: http://spectrum.ieee.org/image/1685797

"Company Timeline." Ford. Ford Motor Company, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <https://corporate.ford.com/company/history.html>.

David Hanson: Robotics That "show Emotion" Ted Talks, 2009. Film.

Geminoid + Hiroshi Image: http://www.paams.net/sites/default/files/ca-geminoid-wide-20130801161421272866-620x349.jpg

Guizzo, Erico. "Hiroshi Ishiguro: The Man Who Made a Copy of Himself." IEEE Spectrum. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/hiroshi-ishiguro-the-man-who-made-a-copy-of-himself>.

Model T Image: https://corporate.ford.com/company/history.html

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics MachikoKasuhara 1." YouTube. Uconlineprogram, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU>.

Wall-E Image: http://images.bwog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/wall+e+love+2.jpg

"WALL-E." IMDB. IMDb, Inc., 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/>.